1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed generally to a smoking device and more particularly, to a smoking device for regulating the smoke/air ratio drawn into the mouth of a smoker during inhalation for weaning the smoker off cigarettes.
2. Background Art
In recent years, there has been a boom in growth for products designed to assist a smoker in stopping smoking. From patches to prescriptions, nicotine delivery systems, herbal treatments, supplements, chewing gum, and lozenges, the options seem endless. Billions of dollars are being spent by government agencies, the insurance industry, medical organizations and the pharmaceutical industry to assist individuals addicted to the habit of smoking in cessation of smoking.
Various means of introducing the air steam into the cigarette are known, for example, the tobacco cylinder wrap can be a very porous paper which allows for aspiration of air therethrough and into the tobacco cylinder where it commingles with the smoke stream or, the tobacco cylinder may be perforated at locations along the length thereof which provides radial access ports to the tobacco cylinder through which ventilating air streams enter the cigarette. It is also known to provide ventilating air streams through annular cavities where the smoke stream is first commingled with the ventilating air streams only upon delivery of each to the smoker's mouth. Several devices for ventilating cigarettes were previously disclosed as shown below. However, none of them are capable of meeting the need for a simple, easy to clean and fail proof device for enabling commingling of smoke and air in the user's mouth.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,461 to Osmalov et. al. discloses a device for smoke filtration of a filter type and a non-filter type cigarettes. A filter cigarette is provided with a tubular mouthpiece at the rear end of the filter section, the mouthpiece having at least one central passage therethrough providing a flow path for the smoke stream so that the latter passes unimpeded from the filter section to the smoker's mouth. The mouthpiece is also provided with one or more separate ventilation passages formed in the body of the mouthpiece at or adjacent the periphery thereof the arrangement being such that the smoke passage and ventilation passages extend in the same general direction. The outlets of each ventilation passage communicate directly with the smoker's mouth so that the ventilating air stream and smoke stream are each delivered separately to the mouth, the ventilation passages also being provided with inlets in communication with the atmosphere. This disclosure fails to contemplate the possibility that the air conduits may be inadvertently blocked in use, reducing the effectiveness of the ventilation passages. This disclosure also lacks ventilation passages that are accessible for cleaning and a cigarette receiver portion that is conically configured to more securely hold a cigarette.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,707 to Seidel et. al. discloses a variably ventilatable filter cigarette with a filter body having a plurality of spaced circumferential, peripheral channels covered by a wrapping sheet at least a portion of which is air permeable, the wrapping sheet extending beyond the filter body to receive a cup-shaped member having an end wall with perforations alignable with the channels. The cup-shaped member is rotatable to vary the degree of registration with respect to the channels. This reference also discloses an ambient air flow path that is separated from the smoke flow path. It further discloses a mechanism for varying ventilation. However, there is an inner area (42 of '707) which receives filtered smoke and air where mixing takes place. This reference lacks the teaching of separate flow paths for delivering smoke and air to the mouth of a smoker. Such mixing within an area prior to reaching a user's mouth, provides a smoke/air mixture that tastes differently to the user than separate flows of air and smoke in the user's mouth. Therefore, this departure from conventional taste may dissuade the use of such device.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,323,525 to Miller discloses a cigarette holder or tip for admitting air into the smoke stream. One end of this holder is in the form of a bit adapted to be held in the smoker's mouth and the other end is adapted to receive the cigarette. The cigarette holder is hollow so that the bit or tip portion receives smoke flowing from the burning cigarette during smoking and passageway means are provided through which air from the outside of the cigarette may pass into the hollow tip in response to the smoker applying suction to the interior of the tip. Since suction in the tip draws air from both the outside and through the cigarette at the same time, the amount of air drawn through the burning portion of the cigarette is less than the amount that would be drawn if the entire suction were applied to the cigarette. Accordingly, less oxygen is drawn into the burning portion of the cigarette so that the burning temperatures are less and generally will not be excessive. This lowering of the burning temperature causes a reduction in the production of harmful tars in the burning zone. Moreover, since the smoke passing through the tobacco is at a lower temperature, there will be less production of tobacco tars. This disclosure is yet another example of a device which allows ambient air to be drawn from a flow path distinct from that of the smoke flow path. Again however, the smoke and air are mixed prior to entering the mouth of a smoker. It also lacks the teaching of an ambient air intake that is easily accessible for cleaning.
The prior art devices are not entirely satisfactory and in general are significantly more complicated in operation and construction and therefore much less cost effective in production and lacking in simplicity and human factors design. There arises a need for a smoking device comprising air or smoke passages that are accessible for cleaning, a cigarette holder that securely holds a cigarette, a mouthpiece design which prevents inadvertent blocking of ambient air passages and ergonomic mouthpiece design that makes the mouthpiece comfortable to hold in a user's mouth.